Job openings slip in August yet remain near record high

Job seekers check in at a booth at a job fair at the Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater, Florida. U.S. employers are advertising near-record levels of job openings, though the total slipped in August from July.(Photo: Alan Diaz / AP)

Washington — U.S. employers are advertising near-record levels of job openings, though the total slipped in August from July.

The Labor Department says job openings fell 0.9 percent in August to just under 6.1 million, from 6.14 million in the previous month. July’s figure was revised slightly lower but is still the largest number of available jobs since records began in December 2000.

Job openings have risen as the number of unemployed has fallen to the lowest in a decade. The unemployment rate, currently 4.2 percent, has hit a 16-year low. That has left businesses struggling to fill open jobs.